Private care home capacity falling in the UK
The Local Government Association (LGA) has revealed a stark reduction in the number of private nursing home places available in the UK. The ongoing recession would appear to have hit private nursing homes hard as more and more of the UK population struggle to find the funds required to pay for the service. A survey by the LGA has highlighted the fact that 15% of local authorities in the UK are already feeling the pinch of substantially reduced private nursing home places and struggling to meet the extra burden.
A further 76.5% of local governments fully expect to feel the impact of nursing home closures in the short to medium term as the situation becomes critical. As many local authorities are legally obliged to assist with the cost of private nursing care there have been a number of initiatives to speed up payment of outstanding invoices which it is hoped will assist with short-term cash flow issues.
It is by far and away more cost-effective for councils to contribute towards private nursing home places as oppose to increasing their own nursing home portfolios, with the added cost of maintenance and construction. Nursing homes were once one of the more attractive investments for the future but an increase in their cost base, more and more red tape and the recession appear to have hit the sector hard in the short term.
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